Watanabe discussed preparations for working with Aston Martin F1.

      After seven years of collaboration with Red Bull, starting from 2026, Honda will supply its power units exclusively to Aston Martin F1, and its racing division, Honda Racing Corporation (HRC), is actively preparing for this. One of the key factors for future success is the fact that Adrian Newey has been working at Aston Martin since this year, coordinating the development of the next-generation chassis, and that Andy Cowell, the team leader from Silverstone, was previously the chief engine builder for Mercedes and is well-versed in this area.

      "Aston Martin has already approached us with several requests to improve competitiveness," Koji Watanabe, president of HRC, told AutoSportWeb Japan. "We don't know if these requests also come from Newey, but besides him, there is also Andy Cowell, who previously headed Mercedes' engine division, so he has a good understanding of engines.

      Having specialists involved in chassis development and being able to engage in discussions with them gives us an edge. We've already received requests regarding engine layout, and our development team, led by Tetsushi Tsunoda, director of the Formula 1 powertrain division, is working together with Aston Martin specialists."

      Watanabe also mentioned a few words about the ongoing preparations for parting ways with Red Bull Racing: "The official registration of the UK branch of HRC was completed in February 2024. Since then, we have begun hiring specialists, and last September we fully relocated from the Red Bull Powertrains building, where our first group of engineers initially worked..."